AquaSpace Case Study Houtman – Abrolhos Archipelago, Western Australia: Issues and Tools The research leading to these results has been undertaken as part of the AquaSpace project (Ecosystem Approach to making Space for Aquaculture, http://aquaspace-h2020.eu) and has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation under grant agreement n° 633476. Horizon 2020

Coral-reef fringed islands (122) Houtman - Abrolhos Coral-reef fringed islands (122) ~65 km from coast, across 100 km of ocean Tropical/Temperate (water 20-24°C) Marine conservation area Multiple uses: 4 reef observation areas Recreational tourism (dive trails) Rock-lobster industry Pearl farming (8 oyster sites) Protected historical wrecks Important geological history Fish Habitat Protection Area Western Australia Map from: www.lib.unimelb.edu.au From: www.fish.wa.gov.au

Aquaculture zone approach (Department of Fisheries WA) Support development of marine finfish aquaculture industry Ensure aquaculture is environmentally responsible and socially acceptable Survey and sample 4,740 ha Identify 3000 ha suitable for finfish aquaculture Species to be cultured: Yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi)

Main Questions What is the optimum use of space within the planned zones based on sound environmental protection,  biosecurity and disease control  principles? What are the best principles of operation with regard to these same principles? Which are the best strategies for: reducing the risk of disease emergence (e.g., through incorporation of fallowing strategies aimed at breaking pathogen persistence and potential evolution) containment in the event of a disease outbreak prevention of spread of disease to the wider industry

Case study issues Policy / Management: Environmental: Other sectors: Streamline the licensing approvals and on going management of activities Assessment of site suitability and carrying capacity to reduce compliance costs Need for ongoing monitoring and management of aquaculture activity in the zones Environmental: Improve spatial planning to enable better targeting and monitoring requirements in order to ensure environmental protection Development of tools to assess the suitability and carrying capacity of new sites Other sectors: Defining best principals of operation to account for the interaction of multiple uses Best strategies for reducing the risk of disease emergence and prevention of spread

Sediment diagenesis model – FABM-AED (UWA) Tools Applied: Aquatic Ecodynamics (AED) Sediment diagenesis model – FABM-AED (UWA) open-source different components for simulation of: turbidity nutrients algal blooms pathogens acid sulphate soils and general ecosystem interactions Allow customisation From: http://aed.see.uwa.edu.au/

Output so far: Modelling results showed: High deposition of organic waste confined to the area of seafloor immediately beneath the sea cages Example for an extreme aquaculture production scenario (30,000 tonnes) Yellow to Light blue indicate significant reductions in organic deposition in the area immediately beneath the sea cages

Planned tool to be applied – EcoWin Requires the integration of several models Hydrodynamics EcoWin2000 - Ecosystem Physiology Enter larger box areas, volumes etc from GIS into EcoWin Implement individual growth model in EcoWin, test, and then add population dynamics Run hydrodynamic model of the larger scale region Simulate individual finfish physiology Use results to conceptualise an energy budget model for individual growth Define larger boxes within the Abrolhos Archipelago with GIS using bathymetry and marine use data Run full EcoWin model, calibrate and validate Management scenarios Implement and validate individual growth model in Stella or other simple modelling package Use model to calculate water fluxes across these larger boxes Extract EcoWin initial conditions for state variables in each box, boundary conditions and calibration data Prepare a water quality database including both the individual lough and inputs from freshwater and ocean boundaries (measurements) Measure individual finfish growth rates in the field Hydrodynamic transport simulated to be supplied to EcoWin 2000 via spreadsheet. Text file, etc. http://www.ecowin.org/smile/

Hydrodynamics (in development) Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) Grid extends from ~22.5 to 34.5̊ S and from 108.5 to 116̊ E Spatial resolution of approximately 800 m with 25 sigma layers Outputs from ROMS have been up-scaled to larger boxes for the case study Testing the results in EcoWin to see if we can proceed with applying the selected tool to the Abrolhos Archipelago http://coastaloceanography.org/

Physiology - Yellowtail Kingfish growth model Solves the energy budget of the fish and used to: Predict growth Calculate the nutritional requirements Predict the chemical excretion(e.g. ammonia and phosphates) and oxygen consumption from the surrounding water https://underwater.com.au/image.php/id/9761/ Model has been coded in R Developed in collaboration with South Metropolitan TAFE